My partner has been treated with Atriplaq for one year. As of our last doctos visit the viral load and cell count were responding well to the treatmet. He still has trouble sleeping at night and he has gained weight for no explainable reason. Could this be the Atripla? He is not American and is 42 years old. He used to be a gym fanatic but I am unable to get him to even ride a bike now for exercise. Any sugestions?

Response from Dr. Henry

Weight gain in range of 3-10 pounds over first year fairly common with a variety of effective HIV regimens (including Atripla). Sleep problems from Atripla (the efavirenz component) is frequent complaint in first weeks on treatment and is ongoing issue for small percent of patients (< 5-10% in my experience) over time. Changing dosing time of Atripla to AM on a trial basis or considering a trial switch from efavirenz to an alternative drug (ie nevirapine or boosted PI or raltegravir) is a consideration if no other explanations for sleep problems found (ie sleep apnea) after a sleep assessment. KH

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